The NBA Draft takes place tonight and with the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft, everyone is expecting the Sixers to draft Ohio State SG 6’7″ Evan Turner. If the Sixers don’t draft Evan Turner, it would be considered a slap in the face to Sixers fans.

According to the Bleacher Report, this draft pick is a no-brainer and I would have to agree with them. Shooting guard is definitely area of need for the Sixers and the addition of Evan Turner could shape the Sixers team for years to come.

After adding PG Jrue Holiday with last year’s 17th pick, PF/C Marreese Speights with the 16th pick in 2008, and SF/PF Thaddeus Young with the 12th pick in 2007, a legitimate SG is the one position missing from a solid group of young stars.

A starting 5 of Marreese Speights, Elton Brand, Andre Iguodala, Evan Turner, and Jrue Holiday with Thaddeus Young and Lou Williams getting serious minutes off the bench could surely return to the Sixers to the playoffs next season with a 7th or 8th seed and the future will be looking bright for these young Sixers.

Let’s take a look at Evan Turner:

What’s up my peeps.  I’m sorry for not updating the site in a very long time, but I’ve had to deal with moving and starting a new job, so I needed to take a slight break from the action.  Not much has happened recently.  This is the dull part of year when we’re waiting in limbo while the Phillies fight through mid-season and we prepare for Eagles training camp.  We will get back into full swing once the Eagles start training camp.  In the meantime, I just wanted to catch up on some stories.

First order of business is taking a look at the Sixers 2009 draft pick, Jrue Holiday.  Going into the 2009 NBA Draft, we knew the Sixers were coveting a point guard.  Some thought that Ty Lawson would be the pick.  Jrue Holiday was also on the radar.  The consensus seems to be that Jrue was a steal at #17 for the Sixers and it was Lawson who was then drafted at #18.

Let’s take a look at the highlight video:

And then the strength and weaknesses via NBADraft.net:

Strengths: Long and wiry combo guard … A crafty ballhandler that knows how to get defenders off balance with the dribble … Has a good repertoire of moves and mixes them up well to keep the defense guessing … He has a deceptive 1st step and shifty quickness making him difficult to contain on the perimeter … Is adept using both hands, either when attacking or finishing … Uses his body as well as his length to finish around the basket … Utilizes a variety of floaters and runners in the lane … Likes to pull up from the midrange where he shoots with balance and good rhythm … Shows good speed in the open court and the ability to manoeuvre through traffic with the dribble while going full speed … Puts in a good effort defensively, where he enjoys being aggressive and pressuring ballhandlers … Has good hands, anticipates well and uses his wingspan to get many deflections … He is unselfish and possesses good court vision and has shown glimpses of being able to run a team full time …

Weaknesses: Had a very disappointing season in terms of the hype he had coming in from highschool … Played out of position for the majority of the season, and struggled finding his comfort zone … Battled inconsistency with his shot all year and it threw the rest of his offensive game off balance … Defenses showed very little respect for his outside shot, daring him to shoot and taking away his driving lanes … His form is a big issue as it throws his stroke off and makes his release inconsistent … He shoots off the side of his head with the shooting elbow way out, as a result his shot is all over the place …He does not have the superb athleticism or strength like many other combo guards … Tends to waste dribbles on the perimeter, killing the flow of the offense because he can be a ball stopper at times … Gets into trouble by over penetrating and then trying to make the spectacular play while in traffic and under pressure … Settles for contested jumpshots from outside and takes a lot of fading and offbalance attempts inside … Leaves his feet to make passes and gets caught with no options … Is stuck between positions because he has not proven that he can be a consistent scorer or that his decision making will translate to the next level …

I see good things in the future for the Sixers with the young trio of Jrue Holiday, Marreese Speights, and Thaddeus Young.  I like the pick and so does Bleacher Report:

Holiday is a much better prospect than a player like Ty Lawson or an Eric Maynor player. Even with Andre Miller gone, Holiday probably won’t start immediately since he has a ton of upside and must be brought up slowly, which is the only downside to this pick. But I can’t express how much I love this pick.

The former McDonald’s All American, was the best player at number seventeen. He has the largest upside of anybody in the draft. As much as people liked Lawson, he is what he is, he has reached his ceiling. At 19-years old he hasn’t even shown us what he can do. Maynor is 22-years-old, and has also reached his ceiling.

Based on potential and upside of a player, the Sixers get a consensus lottery pick at number seventeen.

After first hearing about the Elton Brand signing, I was thrilled, but was a also little disappointed that the Sixers didn’t opt for Josh Smith instead.  I thought Smith’s youth and speed would be a better fit for Philadelphia’s style of basketball.  However, the acquisition of Brand was definitely the better move.

First, Josh Smith wasn’t a guarantee because he was a restricted free agent, so going after Smith instead of Brand would be a huge gamble.  Second, Brand gives the team a leadership figure that the other forwards (Thaddeous Young, Jason Smith, Marreese Speights) can learn from.  Third, Brand will help the team’s half-court offense more than Smith could have, which was something that really hurt the Sixers in the Detroit series.  Fourth, Brand and Dalembert will get more blocks and rebounds than Dalembert and Smith would have.  Sixth, Brand’s command for double teams will give Dalembert more opportunities to score.  My only concern: I just hope that Brand isn’t another Chris Webber.

This Philadelphia Inquirer article notes how thrilled the young Sixers are to have Elton Brand. The article also mentions that the 76ers played their first NBA Summer League game and the 76ers young rookie Marreese Speights impressed: 23 points, 13 rebounds.  Thaddeus Young also had a solid game: 27 points, 6 rebounds.  Jason Smith had 11 points and 9 rebounds.  However, the Sixers lost to Golden State 96-89.

With the 16th pick the Sixers got a big man: Marreesee Speights.  The 6’10″ Florida PF/C.  He’s only a freshman and averaged 14.5 PPG, 8.1 RPG, and 1.4 BPG.

Here is what NBA Draft Express had to add:

We walked away from the first day shaking our head at what we witnessed—a 6-10, 20-year old power forward who is about as skilled a big man facing the basket as you will find in this draft. “He’s really more skilled than anyone knows,“ Joe Abunassar told us. The first thing you notice is how fundamentally sound Speights’ shooting mechanics are. He’s got a natural, flawless stroke, showing small-forward like elevation creating separation from his defender, a high release point, excellent body control on his fade-aways, great technique squaring his shoulders and his hips simultaneously in perfect unison—and not surprisingly, getting unbelievable results in the process.

I like the pick.  He was the Sixers’ guy all along.

Here’s what “they” (the NBA draft “experts”) are saying about the Sixers potential selections.  This comes via the Philadelphia Inquirer.  It gives you the down and dirty on the players that could be called with the Sixers 16th pick:
Center Kosta Koufos, 7-foot-1, 245 pounds, age 19, Ohio State freshman. “Unless a better option emerges, why not go for a scorer with shooting range to complement Samuel Dalembert?” writes Ian Thompson for Sports Illustrated’s Web site, SI.com. (Picks made June 11.)
– “Extremely high skill level … fairly mobile, not a stiff … can create shots for himself … outstanding shooting touch,” says DraftExpress.com (June 3)/
– “Put up solid numbers that would’ve been even better if he had someone the caliber of Mike Conley getting him the ball. … He could potentially emerge as a lottery pick,” says Tony Mejia of probasketballnews.com (May 27).
– Also the projection of mynbadraft.com (June 11).
Will he be there? Yes, says almost all the mocks quoted mentioned by this article.

Center JaVale McGee, 7-0, 237, age 20, Nevada sophomore. Projected as the Sixers pick by three mock drafts: HoopsWorld.com. (June 7), NBAdraft.net (June 2), and probasketballnews.com (May 24).
Will he be there? Almost all mocks say yes.

Center Marreese Speights, 6-10, 245, age 19, Florida sophomore. The Sixers need a “low-post banger,” and might go for a veteran like Elton Brand. Speights is an alternative. “He does a lot of the same things that Brand does; he just doesn’t have the conditioning or motivation,” writes Chad Ford of ESPN.com (June 2).
– Also projected to Sixers by insidehoops.com (June 6).
Will he be there? Most mocks say yes, although could go as high as 10, says realgm.com.

Center DeAndre Jordan, 7-0, 255, age 19, Texas A&M freshman. “A seven-footer with upside that the NBA will not allow to stay in school another year, even though he really needs it,” says Ray Glier of NBCSports.com (May 20) . “… Will pay off if he gets to the level projected.”
Will he be there? Nobody else seems to think so. At least four mocks project Jordan to go at No. 10.

Forward/center Robin Lopez, 7-0, 255, Stanford sophomore. “Energetic frontcourt player … shotblocker … exceptionally quick to the basket for rebounds, especially on the offensive end,” says realgm.com (June 3).
Will he be there? Yes, say almost all the mocks.

Power forward Darrell Arthur, 6-9 , 215, age 20, Kansas sophomore. “Smooth big man with a scoring mentality, and very nice potential both facing and with his back to the basket, said hoopshype.com (June 4). But he’s also a “… poor rebounder. Not particularly active – has a tendency to coast too often … poor passer. Needs to add strength. … Lots of potential, but will he achieve it?”
Will he be there? More mocks say he’ll be gone than say he’ll last to 16.

Forward Donte Green, 6-11, 226, age 20, Syracuse freshman. “There aren’t too many guys with Donte Greene’s size, athleticism and shooting range … But his draft stock is all over the board and he could use at least another year in college to get his body ready for the pros and to improve his consistency,” writes Jeff Fox of collegehoops.net (June 2).
Will he be there? He’ll last to No. 16, but not much longer, most mocks agree.

Guard/forward Chase Budinger, 6-7, 190, age 20, Arizona sophomore. Projected by RidiculousUpside.com (May 22).
Will he be there? He will, almost all mocks agree.

It’s been a while since I’ve gotten around to the Sixers, but it’s about that time to start thinking about the draft.  The Sixers not only stole Game 1 from the Pistons, but were able to get another win before succumbing to the power-house that is the Pistons and losing the series 4-2.  Hell of the season for the Sixers.  Many “NBA Experts” predicted that the 76ers would be dead last in the NBA East.  Most of us thought that they were lottery bound.  At the beginning of the season, I predicted that the 76ers would finish about 4 games out of the 8th seed in the East.  None of us pictured that the 76ers would make the playoffs and even when they made the playoffs, few of us thought that the series against the Pistons would be decided by more than 5 games.

With a ticket to the playoffs, there was no hope that those ping-pong balls would bounce the right way to bring the Sixers the No. 1 or No. 2 pick (Michael Beasely or Derrick Rose).  Rather, the Sixers draft position was already predetermined: the No. 16 pick.  The good news is that this draft is deep; maybe not as deep as last year, but the Sixers can still get the best player available and still be able to fill a position of need.

Ed Stefanski is already on top of pondering who the Sixers’ first-round selection will be.  He’s off to Orlando to attend the NBA predraft camp.  The Philadelphia Inquirer has a great article covering his trip and his thoughts on this year’s draft.

Here’s a list of players that the Sixers should be able to choose at No. 16:

• Chris Douglas-Roberts SG/SF (Memphis)
• Brandon Rush SG/SF (Kansas)
• Marreese Speights PF/C (Florida)
• Joe Alexander SF/PF (WVU)
• Chase Budinger SG/SF (Arizona)

Stefanski stated that the Sixers top priority is finding a shooter: Alexander, Budinger, Douglas-Roberts, and Rush would certainly fit the bill there.  Next, the Sixers will look at the center/power-forward position, which makes Marresee Speights (6′ 10″ 250 lbs.) an interesting prospect, but he’s raw.  After those needs, the Sixers would look for a point guard.  I’m interested in seeing whether D.J. Augustine falls down the board to the Sixers at 16, and would hope the Sixers think about drafting him, but I would say there’s a 90% chance that he’s taken in the top 15.

The 2008 NBA Draft takes place Thursday, June 26, 7:00 p.m. on ESPN. Stay tuned for more coverage.